Electric iron.



D. W. MoGLAY.

ELECTRIC IRON.

' APPLICATION FILED APB..10.1908.

928,532. Patented July 20, 1909.

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amaenfoz 9 Q Jim/2'0 D. W. McGLAY.

ELECTRIC IRON. APBLIOA-TIQN FILED APR. 10.1908.

Patented July 20, 1909.

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DAVID W. NCGLAY. OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC IRON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1909.

Application filed April 10, 1908. Serial No. 426,367.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID W. MCCLAY, a citizen of the United States, residing -at Pittsfield, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electric Irons, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electrically heated iron and the main object of the invention is an iron provided with a multiple coil, single heating unit, the coils being arranged in series, and provided with a core of insulating material adapted to allow for expansion.

am aware of the fact that electrically heated irons have been devised, and in the first irons of this descri tion considerable diliiculty was experienced by reason of the expansion of certain parts .owing to the great heat generated in the coils. This diiliculty which prevented the commercial success of the earlier devices of this kind has resulted in efforts to construct an iron of this kind which will overcome the dilficult by furnishing a construction which wil avoid the expansion or contraction of the various parts. This, however, involves the loss of considerable heat units for the constructing of a heating device which does not give as high a temperature as desirable, or if a high temperature and but little loss of the heat units is obtained without expansion of some of the parts, it is obtained only at an ex ense which puts the device beyond the reaci of the average purchaser of such devices.

My invention consists of a heating unit arran ed within the iron proper mounted direct y upon the base or ironing plate, which plate torms the bottom of the heating unit; the said heating unit comprising a plurality of upper and lower rods passing longitudinally through the casing containing the heating unit, of short sectional sleeves of a tough insulating material loosely arrange upon said rods, and heating coils wrappe around. saidsleeves and joined together in series.

In the accompanyingl drawin s, Figure 1 is a perspective view s owing t e device in position for use. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the heating unitcasing. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view. .Fi 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. F ig. 5 is a section (1 able handle 10. (1 "means of asbestos packing, preferably formed on the line'55 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a rear end elevation.

In these drawings 1 represents the ironing plate which forms the base of both the iron and the heating unit. Upon this base and cast with it is a heating unit casting 2. This casting is longitudinally bored out to form a plurality of horizontllyextending bores 3 which open at each end of the casting, or if desired, these bores may be formed when the device is molded, and they may be of any number or size desired. These bores are arranged in upper and lower sets, and it will be ration of the base 1 the casting is reduced in width adjacent the forward end, so that the inner bores are of greater length than the outer or side bores. Through each of these bores passes a rod 4, each rod having threaded projecting end portions upon which suitable nuts are placed in order to lock the rods in position. Each rod is inclosed by a plurality of short sleeves 5 formed of any suitable non-brittle insulating material, such as lava, wood fiber or similar materials. These short sleeves form practically a continuous sleeve upon each rod, divided into a large number of short sections. Over each of these sectional sleeves is fitted a wire coil 6 of a smaller diameter than the bore 3 in which it is placed. At each entrance to each bore a flanged collar 7 is fitted over the end portions of the coils, said collar also being of an insulating material, and of a diameter substantially the same as that of the bores, said collars serving to space the coils from the sides of the bore, the flanges upon the collar hearing against'the ends of the casting and preventing escape of heat from the bores to the /outside atmosphere.

washer 8 is also placed upon each of the rods and between the collar and the locking nut. Over the heating unit thus described 1 place a casing 9 similar in shape and.appearance to the usual iron and provided with a detach- This caslng 1s insulated by in sheets, from the casting 2 and the base 1. Brass contact strips 11 are connected to the two upper and outer coils and project upi'wardly and outwardly through suitable openings formed at the rear end of the casing 9.

At the rear end the handle is recessed as {shown at 12 and the flexible electrical con- 3 ductor 13 which leads from an ordinary in- A suitable insulating noted that in order to conform to the configuiron. The casing 9 and the handle 10 are both held in place by screws 17 which thread into the top of the casting 2. The coils 6 are connected in series, the upper left hand coil having one of the contact strips connected therewith and the current, after traversing said coil, passes down to the coil immediately below it, along said coil to the rear, and thence to the adjacent lower coil, and to the front, thence to the upper end of thecoil immediately above, through said coil to the rear end of the casting, thence to the adjacent upper coil on the right hand side, to the forward end of the casting, down to the coil below it, back to the rear end, thence to the rear end of the lower right hand coil, throu h said coil to. its forward end, thence up to t e forward end of the upper right hand coil and thence back to the remaining contact strip. It will be understood that the coils may be of any desired number, but the number shown will be employed in an iron of the size usually employed for, eneral household work. The number of coi s may be increased by adding one to each set making ten coils in all, or in larger irons the coils may be arranged in three sets of four or five coils in a set, or any other desired arrangement may be em loyed, the coils bein connected substantia y as above describe It will be obvious that by placing these coils upon short sections of insulating material, said sections being in the form of sleeves loosely mounted upon a rod; the'expansion of said sleeves due to their becoming eated is allowed for without resorting to any expedients for preventing such expansion taking place.

The various coils are all formed of one piece of wire but when arranged in the form above described, in groups, they become in effect separate coils, and the longitudinal expansion of each coil is onlyone-sixth of the ex 'ansion which would take 001 s were continuous. By orming the heating unit of a'casting with bores passing therethrough the casting forms practically a solid portion with the base in which the heated coils are embedded and by reason of these lace if thethe amount of metal carried by it becomes a vehicle for the stora e of heat, and being insulated from the incl osing casing, this casing remains cool when the ironing surface is extremely hot, there being practically no apreciable loss of heat by radiation except rom the ironing surface.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isz- 1. In an electrically heated device, a heating unit comprising a rod, a series of inde pendent sleeve sections of insulating material surrounding said rod from end to end, and a wire coil arranged upon said sleeve sections, and adapted for circuit connections, as set forth.

2. In an electrically heated device, a heating unit, comprising a rod, 9. series of independent sleeve seetions surrounding said rod, and a wire coiled about said sleeve sections, in combination with a metallic casting havmg a bore in which the rod carrying the bination with a base having a casting thereon, said casting being bored longitudinally, of rods passing through said bores, independent sleeve sections of insulating material surrounding said rods from end to end, wires coiled around said sleeve sections, said wires being connected in series, as set forth.

4. In an electrically heated iron, the conh bination with a base having a casting thereon, said casting having a plurality of longi tudinal bores, rods passing through said bores, independent sleeve sections surrounding said rods from end to end, wires coiled around said sleeve sections, collars of insulating material surrounding the coils at each end, said coils being connected in series, and a casing enveloping the casting and insulated therefrom, as set forth.

5. The combination with an iron, of an inclosed casting carried thereby, said casting having longitudinally extending bores formed therein, rods removabl 'held in said bores, a plurality of short s eeves fitting loosely upon said rods and extending continuously throughout the length of said bores, a wire coil carried by each of said rods and inclosing the sleeves u on said rod, all of said coils being eonnecter in series with an electrical circuit, and flanged collars-of insulating material fitting over the end ortions of said coils, the flanges of the collars caring against the casing.

DAVID W. McCLAY. Witnesses CnAs. E. BROOK, E. B. McBA'rH. 

